DOSSIER DOCUMENTAIRE

_______________________________

Text 1

The internet at work - distraction or destruction?

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/03/internet-at-work-distraction-or.html

Friday, March 02, 2007

Are you reading this at work? If so, don't feel guilty. A new analysis done by the journal
CyberPsychology & Behaviour suggests that much of what might be called "wasting time on
the internet" is not such a bad thing. And that it should even be accepted as a normal part of
working. The analysis also found a strong link between internet access and job satisfaction. It
argues that companies should be more tolerant of non-productive computer use: "As
definitions of work activities evolve with changing technology, perhaps strict adherence to
these work activities is outdated or even unobtainable."

They reckon that we should embrace a future in which workers maintain their happiness and
productivity through judicious non-work browsing1, email and chat throughout the working day.
Truly-counterproductive behaviour on the other hand shouldn't be tolerated, they say. But they
predict it will become less common as more people become familiar with the web.

Text 2

Unions say bosses should allow social networking at work

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/labels/work.html

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Employers should respect their employees’ right to use social networking sites like Face book and My
Space on the job, according to the Trades Union2 Congress (TUC) in the UK. The TUC has
issued guidelines for employees, as well as for employers, designed to encourage tolerance of
such sites in the workplace. It's an interesting example of the consequences of online living.
We increasingly take our personal lives into what used to be impersonal spheres.

Some research has suggested that employers should tolerate non-productive use of the web at work
to maintain overall happiness and productivity. The TUC notes that a "number of employers
have decided to ban the use of Facebook at work". But I know of at least one example that
shows how an employer can benefit from social networking.

A friend works for a city law firm in London. Because all web-based email sites are blocked,
employees have piled into using Facebook instead. The IT department blocked that too, only
to unblock it quickly at a senior lawyer's request. Apparently Facebook had become a useful
way to maintain client relationships.

Is that just the exception that proves the rule? Or have other people encountered employers willing to
tolerate, or even promote, online social networking?

Text 3
1
Browsing : surfer sur le Net
2
Trade Union : syndicat

A
Internet Use Tops Workplace Time-Wasting Tasks

DULLES, Va. & NEEDHAM, Mass., July 13, 2005

http://accounting.smartpros.com/x48929.xml

Unproductive tasks in the workplace, from Web surfing to watercooler chit-chat3, is costing companies
$759 billion annually, according to a report released this week by America Online and Salary.com.

In a survey of 10,000 employees, the average worker admits to wasting away 2.09 hours per day, not
counting lunch. The number one way they waste time at work is personal Internet use (e.g., email,
Instant Messaging, online polls, interactive games, message boards, chat rooms, etc.). Personal
Internet use was cited by 44 percent of respondents as their primary time-wasting activity at work.
Socializing with co-workers was the second most popular form of wasting time at work (23 percent of
respondents). Conducting personal business and making personal phone calls were other popular
time-wasting activities in the workplace.

But are workers really expected to work non-stop eight hours a day? According to a survey of
corporate human resource managers, employers actually expect the average employee to waste
about an hour per day, in addition to the worker's lunch hour.

"A certain amount of slacking off4 is already built into the salary structure" according to Bill Coleman,
senior vice president at Salary.com. "Our survey results show that workers on average are wasting a
little more than twice what their employers expect. That's a startling figure. Although in some cases
this extra wasted time might be considered 'creative waste' -- time that may well have a positive
impact on the company's culture, work environment, and even business results. Personal Internet use
and casual office conversations often turn into new business ideas or suggestions for gaining
operating efficiencies."

The survey also gave workers an opportunity to explain their "time-wasting" activities, and 33 percent
said "don't have enough work to do." In addition, 23 percent of respondents said they waste time
because they are "underpaid for the amount of work I do."

Another interesting statistic gathered from the survey is how many hours an employee wastes away
based on their year of birth. The younger the employee, the more time wasted, the survey shows.
Those 56 and older wasted only 30 minutes a day, whereas those 25 and younger wasted 1.95 hours
per day.

Text 4

3
Watercooler chit-chat : dans un contexte français ‘bavardage autour de la machine à café’
4
Slacking off: réduire la pression

B
Perspective: Can social networking co-exist with the workplace?

http://news.cnet.com/Can-social-networking-co-exist-with-the-workplace/2010-1030_3-6223458.html

December 19, 2007

With Facebook and MySpace.com participation growing by leaps and bounds, social-networking sites
are invading the workplace too. Is that a good thing? Not necessarily if you ask the employers who
regularly block employee access to such sites.

Indeed, a recent analysis of data submitted by thousands of Barracuda Networks' Web Filter
customers finds that about half the businesses using these filters are setting up blocks to MySpace,
Facebook, and other such sites. Barracuda also reported that 21 percent of the businesses it surveyed
actively monitor their employees' Internet activities.

At first that may sound like a corporate version of Big Brother, but employers do have legitimate
reasons to worry. Their chief concern is the potential damage from viruses or spyware, according to
Barracuda. They cited the potential loss of employee productivity too.

Nevertheless, businesses may learn eventually that the types of powerful communication tools now
available for personal purposes on social-networking sites can serve perfectly appropriate and
advantageous business uses. In fact, a number of business professionals already are communicating
with one another on LinkedIn.com, a business-oriented social-networking site.

The challenge for employers is to find a way to defend against intrusions while encouraging employee
productivity. They want to limit potential liability5 even while offering the use of the most robust
communication tools possible. Hence the dilemma.

But this dilemma, over time, likely will be resolved. Once upon a time, businesses to some extent were
very worried about any sort of Web access for employees. They feared that the hired help would
spend the day surfing inappropriate sites, shopping online, and otherwise wasting company time--not
to mention potentially leaking 6proprietary company information.

However, it is a fact of business life that companies that deploy the best and most effective means of
communication will succeed. Thus, over time, companies have developed business equipment and
computer policies. These policies specifically delineate for employees how they should--and should
not--use the company's computers, networks, and e-mail. Employees are also asked to sign
documents agreeing to follow such policies.

There have been problems, of course. Not every employee who has signed such an agreement has
acted in concert with the company's Internet policies. Still, there is no question that companies that
have embraced the Internet have benefited over those that have ignored the changes overtaking the
business world.

Rather than ban employees from using that medium, managers should think ahead how to turn it to
their advantage.

5
Liability : le risque de procès en justice
6
Information leaks: des fuites d’information